3 minute read

If you’ve found yourself on Shrove Tuesday (Pancake Day, Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras – call it what you will) and wondering where that year went, you’re not alone: I’m right here with you, scratching my head and pondering how that crêpe-d upon us so quickly (sorry, had to be done!).

All the indicators were there: bags of super-refined white flour, squeezy plastic lemons, and racks of pancake pans dotted around the supermarket, wherever the eye could fall. Yet I ‘missed’ them. Or perhaps I simply chose, somewhere deep down in my sub-conscious, to ignore them because…I don’t like pancakes. There, I’ve said it.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I make pancakes. And not even just on Shrove Tuesday. I make them for my family. And for those traditional pancakes, I swear by Delia Smith’s classic recipe (here). But the family eschew my “lemon juice and a sprinkling of golden caster sugar” offerings, preferring instead to slather their Delia crêpes with banana slices and Nutella (other choco-hazelnut spreads are available, some more nutritious and arguably, if you’re part of my family, more or less delicious). On a good/bad day, they’ll even add squirty cream or dollop on the Greek yoghurt.

And that’s fine for them but, for me: I’ll pass, thanks. I don’t know what it is about the pancake; I suspect it’s the lack of quality protein that leaves me feeling unsatisfied, a bit bleurgh, and ravenous a little while later. Even when I’ve scattered on blueberries and Greek yoghurt, they leaving me feeling a bit, well…

But that was until I discovered The Perfect (for me) Banana Blueberry Pancake recipe. I must admit, it’s not my original recipe; I found it on the low-carb, fasting-friendly website, www.dietdoctor.com (this link takes you straight to their recipe, meaning I don’t have to type it out here!). Full disclosure: I didn’t add the extra butter on top of the stack as the recipe illustration suggested; mine didn’t need it, being delish without.

Just to prove that I do indeed make the foods I recommend, here’s my photo of the little beauties in all their glorious unctuousness.

I had tried making a basic banana pancake before (1 banana, 2 eggs, blend in a Nutribullet-type blender, pan-fry as usual) but they left me feeling flat. A little like how they looked. The Diet Doctor recipe mixes (!) things up a little though by adding baking powder (for fluffiness) and spices; the idea of dropping on blueberries just before the crêpes were turned (not flipped: that sends the blueberries everywhere. Take my word for it) allows the tiny bombs of goodness to soften, ready to spurt and explode as you bite into them. Inspired!

Their recipe uses a banana and two eggs to create a stack perfect for one hungry diner (or two, less hungry, ones). And even though they’re “low-carb”, free of refined flour and added sugar, they left me feeling happy and content for a good 4 hours afterwards.

No Nutella, or cream, required.

Stay safe x

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